From The Desk of ElleDeeEsse: Family Favourite Tiramisu

My Family Loves This Tiramisu Recipe

I first came across Tiramisu while traveling in Italy. I had never heard of it before. Back in the late 1980's my husband and I were four months in to our twelve month around the world (with a backpack) adventure and were spending a week with relatives at a pension in the Dolomites doing a bit of skiing. At the end of the meal one evening our host brought out a chocolatey, custardy looking mess in a bowl. After the first mouthful I was hooked and between her broken English, and my husbands dodgy translation of German, I managed to jot down a recipe in my travel diary. This has become a regular at any family gathering and I am always asked to bring it when other family members are hosting an occasion. Is this the best dessert you've ever had?

This gorgeous photo of tiramisu is used under a creative commons licence from Peter Alfred Hess

Tiramisu Recipe

Our Favourite Recipe

Tiramisu is a lot like a trifle. It is a layered dessert of custard and coffee soaked sponge fingers sprinkled liberally with grated chocolate. The traditional recipe uses brandy but I love to use Kahlua.

Serves: 6 - 8
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 - 3 hours includes chilling

Ingredients

3 eggs separated
3 tablespoons castor sugar
250g mascarpone
About 12 Savoiardi (sponge finger) biscuits or as many as needed to layer the bottom of your serving dish twice.
150ml strong coffee
4 tablespoons Kahlua
125g dark chocolate, grated

Instructions

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar
Fold in the mascarpone a tablespoon at a time.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the egg yolk mixture.
Arrange a layer of the sponge fingers in a dish
Mix the coffee and Kahlua together and with a pastry brush, brush half of it over the fingers. Alternatively, dip the sponge fingers into the coffee mixture one at a time until covered.
Cover them with half the mascarpone mixture, then sprinkle over half the grated chocolate.
Repeat with a second layer, finishing with the grated chocolate.
Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

Image used under a creative commons licence from klipsch_soundman

Tiramisu Looks Beautiful In Glass

This decadent dessert looks sensational in a beautiful glass serving bowl. If you can get a square or rectangular dish this works best but any shape works well.

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